PETER HORNE put the boot into Cardiff as he gave Glasgow a huge boost ahead of their Heineken Cup campaign.

Boss Gregor Townsend pulled a surprise by handing Horne the kicking duties ahead of Scotland playmaker Ruaridh Jackson and he banged over six penalties in an 18-3 win.

Horne’s efforts lifted Warriors into the top three in the Pro12 League and was timed perfectly ahead of next Sunday’s Euro opener at Northampton.

Neither side took control early on in a nervy spell. Glasgow put together two promising attacks but on both occasions the move broke down through spills by Alex Dunbar.

Warriors earned the first chance of the contest when Cardiff skipper Andries Pretorius was penalised for failing to bind on to the scrum.

Horne’s strike wasn’t his best but it somehow managed to fly between the posts to put his side in front.

Glasgow should have streaked further ahead when they created an overlap for Tommy Seymour but they made a hash of it.

Horne was back in the spotlight when Leigh Halfpenny held on to the ball too long after scooping up a John Barclay clearance. And he struck the penalty perfectly from a similar angle to double the Warriors’ lead.

It took Horne only two minutes to complete his treble after the Blues were guilty of handling in a ruck in their own danger zone.

Glasgow maintained their control and Horne was on target again six minutes before the interval to make it a 12-point gap.

Halfpenny gave the home brigade hope with a penalty just before the break but Horne restored Glasgow’s advantage after the restart – and repeated the feat midway through the half following a miss by Halfpenny.

Everything was going the way of the Warriors and they earned a further boost when a challenge by Stuart Hogg forced Halfpenny to lose grip on the ball as he plunged over the try line.

The tension rose as hooker Dougie Hall was yellow-carded for a foul as the Blues stepped up the pressure but failed to reduce the deficit.